Projection 11/24 Admin & Close (Lillian) Identifying forms of (mostly) Edge Damage: A Short Visual Guide

To do this evening/ was completed: Hey, all. Hope everyone's been eating well. We had a sweet little potluck here and everyone ate loads of food. I spent most of today checking in on some material, making notes and lists of questions in regards to our supplies, what needs troubleshooting, and what to prioritize first. There's quite a bit of info below on identifying and dealing with edge damage. I want to preface by saying that--with each projector you use, there is always a right (or 'set') way to project a film (i.e. proper film path/lamp house/projector alignment, cleanliness, or the process of turning on power sources), but we tailor the performance to a print's specific needs or characteristics and then adjust everything else only where and when it's necessary. 

Presentation Issues:

Preshow Clips/Playlist: I adjusted the playlist for Body of Evidence, since we have two Mubi promos and I reached out to Kat to see which one was correct. It's the NitehawkDiaries_MUBI promo. 

Trailer Updates:

Special Events/ AV set up: I brought the screen down in Trees for the World Cup and per Gil's request, I showed him how to do it should he want to watch and we are, for whatever reason, unavailable to help out. 

Ordering/Receiving (posters & trailers):

Ordering/Receiving (content):

Outgoing/Shipping (content):

Print/video Inspection: I checked in with McKegg in regards to the Body of Evidence inspection report, since it's noted that there's some sprocket damage in the middle of reel 3. Just so folks are aware; I've mentioned this before, but, 'sprocket damage' is an umbrella term rather than a specific form of damage. Damage caused by sprockets could relate to several different forms. A buddy of mine is sending me a well-loved template for inspection reports that we can use to adjust our current forms so that we're staying true to our inbound/outbound policy, but can rearrange a little to add in some key highlights and more room for discussion on the physical forms. Of course, we'd also translate these changes to the incredibly helpful online inspection report spreadsheet that Alec set up for us. Also, pretty much every reel apart from the 5th for Body of Evidence are very, very full. Be careful when threading up, friends! 

I do want to talk about the damage McKegg was referring to, which I actually found very little of, apart from a very, very slight bit of build bumping along the edges. Overall though, McKegg was talking about edge damage and how you can totally feel it, even when it's slight. I've talked about this before, but I want to provide more of a visual guide. Whilst there's no paucity of textual information for film damage both online and in paper materials, it can be frustratingly difficult to find clear, visual references. I will say that, overtime, a lot of this just kinda gets easier to identify the more prints you handle/run. 

There are different variations of edge damage, so I hacked off a bit of our clear leader to demonstrate a few (since my artistic abilities are limited when it comes to illustration), alongside some notable damage in actual film prints. As projectionists, the most common type of edge damage we're likely to come across takes on an almost crescent like shape, or rather, an indentation that can range from barely noticeable to grazing the perforations in a manner that would make your palms sweat. Also, I tried to put text in the actual photos to elaborate on with additional captions in this blog, but it might be somewhat harder to read (probably because I am 7 generations behind the latest iPhone release)...let me know! 

 Notice how the film has likely been worn down or cut by rubbing arms with something sharp (yes, I cut that...but we can pretend) This could be salvaged for projection by adding your typical two sided tape splice--one on the film base and one on the emulsion side, perfectly aligned.

Spaghetti damage...another form of edge damage. Can be fixed with tape. However, if the print you're inspecting/readying for projection is loaded with this kind of damage, I would not try to salvage it. A frame or two is fine, but this kind of damage is deeply annoying to fix in the splicer--those slivers are hard to pin down! 

Again...we are projectionists, not wrestlers. Let the lab do surgery and archive this fellow. Try to get a new print as soon as possible or throw your soul into the fires of capitalism and get a DCP! 

This is where an exacto knife becomes your best friend. Notice the bits of debris that the exposed splicing tape has picked up over time. Not a clean cut! The tape splicer that was used to perform these repairs was most likely a dull one, but even so, always make sure that the edges are clean or you'll end up with more damage and build up of residue. Perforations are perfect traps for dust bunnies, so you'll also want to make sure those are vacant in taped over areas. You might come across some perforations that haven't had the tape or actual film poked out of them (if a repaired area, this would mean the pins in tape splicer didn't fully cut them), which you can carefully release with your finger or the wooden end of a 6 inch cotton swab. 

 Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf? ME. lol I'm afraid of Virginia Woolf. This print was such a nightmare to receive, but what a great opportunity to use for training! What you see here in this image can be described as edge, perf, and image damage. 

 As noted in the image here, I really do mean that it's insubstantial--BUT, like all of the more innocent forms of damage; this can and will be exacerbated by poor film handling/projection/dirty projectors. This VERY hard to see and easier to feel edge damage is/are slight indentations along the edges of the print where it might be worn down, nicked, or warped in a way that--once again--can be difficult for the human eye to register. This is what McKegg was really referring to. For the interested, this is a Scope print of Marketa Lazarová. 

There's LOADS more to tackle with damage, from warping to shrinkage to platter...we'll get to it. A quick reference on platter damage: https://www.sprocketschool.org/wiki/Platter_Systems

I know I mention this pretty frequently, but, Sprocket School really is an excellent resource. It's not mentioned on that webpage for platter/intentional film damage, but you'll notice (and you will have already come across this in some of the prints we've received!) that sometimes there's this white shoe polish (looks like very thin licks of white paint) along the edges of the film. This is from plattering and can be removed with a cloth and film cleaner. I know we don't platter, but it's important to recognize platter damage since we'll still receive prints that have been plattered and are likely to suffer from that type of damage. And aside from damage, plattered prints can also pick up some funky characteristics.  

Asset tracking doc updated/checked?: yes

Maintenance/cleaning:

Cue sheets updated/checked (every shift): I adjusted the cue sheets by adding in their accessibility features and found the credits offset for Hook. Since McKegg noted in his latest blog that Hook seems to be missing some of the credits, I adjusted this on the cue sheet. There should be six minutes, but instead, we've got about 4 1/2. Thank YOU, McKegg, for referencing the exact place in the print. 

Marquee updated?:

Posters updated?:

Cleaning lights on for the night?:

Projection cart by entrance?:

Additional Notes: